In the United States, nearly half of the whole blood received by blood

Question

In the United States, nearly half of the whole blood received by blood banks is acquired by buying blood from “donors.”  This is a dangerous practice . It increases the risk of hepatitis for recipients because people who have the disease and who are desperate for money may lie in order to sell their blood. The practice is also demonstrably inefficient because the  people willing to sell blood may not have the blood types needed . Finally, it commercializes what can be a beautifully rewarding act.

The portions in boldface play which of the following roles?

(A) The first is the overall conclusion of the argument; the second is support for that conclusion.

(B) The first is support for the overall conclusion of the argument; the second is one part of the overall conclusion.

(C) The first is support for the overall conclusion of the argument; the second undermines that overall conclusion.

(D) The first is one part of the overall conclusion of the argument; the second is support for another part of the overall conclusion.

(E) The first is one part of the overall conclusion of the argument; the second is another part of the overall conclusion.

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Devvkad · Answer

Hi, Could I request an explanation of why it is D and not A. Thank you

Devvkad · Answer

Bunuel  Could you please elaborate on why it's D.
 Thanks

DmitryFarberMPrep · Answer

Devvkad

The phrasing here is weird. I don't think I've seen an official question that uses the term "overall conclusion" to refer to a set of conclusions made by the author. It's also weird that there is no one main conclusion, just a series of separate opinions.

However, ignoring the specific terminology for a moment, we can see that the author has presented 3 conclusions about paying for blood: 1) it's dangerous, 2) it's inefficient, and 3) it's too commercial. It might have been natural to tie these together with a main conclusion ("We shouldn't pay for blood donations"), but that never happens.

So what are the bold statements? The first bold is conclusion #1. The second bold is a supporting premise for conclusion #2. D is the only one that says anything like that, but it would be better if it said "one of the conclusions" and "support for another of the conclusions" rather than lumping them together into a nebulous "overall conclusion."

RohanChadha · Answer

How I see it, there are three parts of the conclusion : "This is a dangerous practice", "The practice is also demonstrably inefficient" and "Finally, it commercializes what can be a beautifully rewarding act." That is why these are sub parts of the "overall conclusion" ( I assume formed by combining the three conclusions). The sentences that follow them are premises and here the second boldface sentence follows the second conclusion and the first boldface sentence is the first conclusion.

Hence, we should get D

Bunuel · Answer

VERITAS PREP OFFICIAL SOLUTION:

As in any boldface CR problem, you should first read all elements of the argument to understand it generally and then hone in on the boldfaced portions. In this argument, the first sentence simply provides context for what follows. The first boldfaced portion “This is a dangerous practice” appears to be the main conclusion of the argument. If you ask “why” to that statement it leads you to the evidence that immediately follows: Why is it dangerous? Because “It increases the risk of hepatitis for recipients because people who have the disease and who are desperate for money may lie in order to sell their blood.” However the beginning of the next sentence “The practice is ALSO demonstrably inefficient” does NOT support “This is a dangerous practice” and you must realize this is another part of the conclusion (evidenced by the word “also”) This part of the conclusion is supported by the second boldfaced portion, as that portion gives a reason why the buying blood is inefficient. The last sentence is the final part of the conclusion for which no support or evidence is given.

So the overall conclusion of the author is that buying blood is dangerous, inefficient, and commercializes what can be a beautifully rewarding act. With that in mind you can then analyze each answer choice:

(A) Incorrect. The first portion is not the overall conclusion but rather part of it. The second part does not give any support for the conclusion that “This is a dangerous practice.”

(B) Incorrect. Since you might consider the overall conclusion to be “buying blood is a bad idea”, the first part of this answer choice could be correct. However, the second boldfaced portion is clearly support; it is NOT part of the overall conclusion.

(C) Incorrect. Since you might consider the overall conclusion to be “buying blood is a bad idea”, the first part of this answer choice could be correct. However, the second boldfaced portion does not undermine the overall conclusion but supports it.

(D) CORRECT. The first boldfaced portion is part of the overall conclusion and the second provides support for the statement that “the practice is also demonstrably inefficient”, which is part of the overall conclusion.

(E) Incorrect. The first boldfaced portion is part of the overall conclusion but the second is NOT another part of the conclusion – rather it provides support for that part.

Raghav1612 · Answer

there are two parts of conclusion first is it is dangerious second is it is inefficient

In the United States, nearly half of the whole blood received by blood

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In the United States, nearly half of the whole blood received by blood

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615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

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